“We have now reached Ashwood, California. Please do not forget to take all of your belongings with you and have a sunny day,” a voice sang in a microphone, testing four antsy passengers.

“Thank the ignis caelestis ales,” Felis moaned as she climbed out of her blue carpeted chair.

“Heaven has nothing to do with this,” Kasey grumbled, rolling to his feet, his muscles crackling like bubble wrap. “I think I’m going to cry.”

“I’d pay to see that,” Lia retorted, snatching her small black purse before wiggling into the crowded aisle. “Come on.”

Destery followed suit, blending into the throng of people, trying to ignore the crink in his neck and the migraine demading to be stabilized.

“My foot is numb,” Kasey whined, stomping on the ground. “I’m beyond sure that if someone drove a spear through it, I wouldn’t feel a thing.”

“How lucky for you,” Destery yawned, feeling his eardrumbs pop.

“Lucky? It’s burning.”

Passengers around him exchanged weary, irritable glances, and Kasey’s partners felt minor pity for them, but not as much as they felt for themselves.

When they hopped out of the navy blue bus, they found themselves facing a beautiful sapphire sparkling ocean with ripples of golden sand.

“Nu uh,” Lia said, holding onto the right strap of Kasey’s red tank top. “We’re not here to play.”

“She lives here?” Destery’s partner asked sadly. “Why can’t we live here?”

“Because we work,” Destery answered.

“We’re teenagers,” Kasey grumbled. “We should be surfing, not finding killers and-”

“Shhh!” Ophelia slapped her free hand over his lips. “Could you be any more loud?”

But the witness’ around them paid no heed to their childish scene. Instead, they were busy analyzing their tourist maps, deciding the next best place to go.

“Felis,” Destery began, “please tell me you have directions on you.”

“Ummmm,” Felis pulled out her phone and frowned. “It’s dead.”

The boys groaned.

“Give me one of your phones,” she ordered.

“We don’t carry cells,” Destery answered simply.

“What? How can you-”

“I know, it’s unfortunate, what with me having so many ladies to talk to,” Kasey agreed. “But Destery has forced me to join his little cult of anti-technology. Including music.”

“No, it doesn’t include music. And you can do whatever you want,” Destery snapped. “I just would rather focus on doing my missions than chatting it up with some strangers.”

“You mean finding Lydia,” Kasey rectified.

“Destery. It’s important to have a cell phone. For safety reasons.” Felicia informed matter-of-factly.

“See this?” Destery held up his right palm. “This is my phone. It’s all I’ll ever need.”

Lia snorted. “Stubborn.”

“Destery isn’t totally wrong. Look,” Kasey pulled Felicia’s red stone that brightened through her shirt out, “your Illuminos is reacting.”

“Hey!” Felis slapped Kasey’s hand away. “Don’t touch my things without permission.”

“Sorry. I just think we should follow it. The smoke is going…right.”

“That’s North,” Lia corrected.

“Same thing,” Kasey said, irritated. “We should go. We’re wasting daylight.”

“What if that’s the wrong way, though?” Destery asked as he reluctantly followed the three down the sloped sidewalk. “Everyone else’s Illuminos aren’t reacting.”

“We should at least give it a shot,” Kasey said, taking one backwards, reassuring glance at Destery.

…

This afternoon Perry is going to Venice. Possibly with a murderer. But this murderer is her uncle, who had raised her without hurting her in any way, so there was no reason to panic.

But he said he was going to meet someone this morning. And he was going to take care of it. What did that mean?

Perry sighed. It wasn’t like she could just ask him.

She had hoped that maybe they were at the stage in their relationship where she could confess her ability to abandon her body and maybe they could work things out. But now she was more confused than ever.

“Kaye?” Perry asked through her cell as she sat firmly on the left edge of her violet bed.

“Pear!” a woman’s voice on the other end sang desperately. “Where have you been? Why haven’t you called? Is it true that you crashed Brad’s car? Don’t you dare deny it. I can tell when you’re lying.”

Perry scrunched her face in doubt. Kaye was oblivious to everything, and she couldn’t even see her friend’s face.

“That and Charlie told me,” the voice added.

“Fine,” Perry sighed. “Yeah, I crashed it.”

“Why?”

“Because he deserved it.”

“No, why didn’t you invite me? I would have recorded the whole thing!”

Perry smirked. It would have been cool to see the crash over and over again. Remember the heat burn against her back, only a centimeter from crisping her shirt.

If Charlie wasn’t there, she would have used her inhuman speed to get away. Perry would be so fast that she would be a mile away by the time the car crashed.

But who cares about the details. The fact that Perry did it made her warm with guilty pleasure.

“Then there’d be evidence I actually did it.”

“Oh..,Then what happened? How did Brad take it?”

“Well, Brad took it well. I’m sure his mother is preparing to sue though.”

Perry heard unruly cackles from the other end of the line.

“Of course. That bleached hag always hated you. But what’s the problem? You’ve got your uncle to bale you out.”

“You’re right Kaye…,” Perry mumbled.

There was some silence. “What’s wong, Perry?”

“It’s just, he’s acting funny.”

“Funny, how?”

“I listened to him on a phone call last night.”

“Yeah?”

Perry hesitated. Was she really going to tell one of her friends that she was assuming her uncle was a killer? He was a lawyer! He raised her with the motto that life was a courtroom. She needed proof first, and there was absolutely none. People threatened to kill others all the time; it doesn’t mean he meant it.

“And he said he was taking me to Venice.”

Kaye whistled. “Is he?”

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“Today.”

“Today!?” Kaye shrieked. “We haven’t even hung out yet, though!”

“I know! But I didn’t exactly have a say in it.”

“Then have me come with. I swear I’ll pay him back.”

“Seriously? You want to be around my uncle for three whole months?”

There was a pause as Perry’s friend imagined the scenario.

“Your right,” Kaye admitted slowly. “That’d be a nightmare. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“What time are you leaving?”

Perry looked at the digital alarm clock on her nightstand. “In two hours.”

“How close are you to finish packing?”

She looked at her feet, seeing about a dozen of suitcases and backpacks open with random clothes shoved in.

“Not even close.”

“I guess I should go then.”

“No, don’t.”

“Honey, Sid Perry will come and sue me if he finds out I’m the reason why you aren’t ready to leave.”

Perry pouted. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.”

“Take care of Charlie? She hasn’t answered her phone so I haven’t been able to say goodbye.”

“I’ll throw a whole farewell party on your behalf,” Kaye assured.

“Great,” Perry grumbled.

“Call me when you’re in Venice.”

“Sure.”

Perry heard a click as Kaye killed the call, and she flopped backwards onto her bed, staring at her black and white ceiling with glass chandelier dangling above.

“This was supposed to be a summer to remember.”

…

Felicia was disgusted at where her Illuminos led her-one could say that she considered it actually betrayed her.

All four Ignis Volucres stood before a dirty homeless man, reeking of garbage, drowning in layers of ancient rags and a long, scruffy beard made perfectly for a rat’s nest.

His face was smeared with black smudge and his eyes were clouded, as if he was blind, and the teenagers weren’t sure he even noticed their presence at first.

“Excuse me…,” Kasey began cautiously, as if he was approaching a rabid dog, “do we somehow know you?”

The homeless man jerked his body towards them like he had a seizure and fell back against a dumpster.

“Dunno you, you, you, but,” his gray eyes landed on Felis, “you. I know you.”

Felicia paled, distraught at the thought of knowing such a creature.

“Are you a…?” Kasey held up his Illuminos.

“What do you want? Memories? Take ‘em! There’s nothing in here but ash and bananas anyways.”

Kasey and Destery exchanged quizzical glances. Ash and bananas?

“We’re looking for someone,” Lia began bravely. “A man named Mr. Sid Perry. Have you heard of him?”

The man began laughing, as if they told an unbearable joke, and they waited patiently until he calmed down.

“Yeah, I know ‘im. Everyone ‘ere knows ‘im.”

“How?” Kasey asked.

“He’s the baddest lawyer in city. But if ye’re ‘ere to pick a fight, go back ‘ome. Ya won’t win.”

Destery scowled at the warning.

“We’re here for directions. That’s why our friend’s Illuminos went off.”

At least I think so, he believed inside.

“See that biiiig buildin’ way way waaaay o’er there? All shiny n’ stuff? ‘e works there. Starts at seven in the morn’, leaves late at night. Say, tenish.” The repulsive man pointed to his left at an extremely tall building made of blue glass windows with a long sidewalk to its sliding entrance doors.

“It’s way past seven,” Lia said in defeat. “And there is no way we can sneak into that kind of building without getting caught.”

“I don’t want to wait out here until ten, though,” Felis added anxiously, glancing at the informer.

“Ya don’ wanna reminisce with an ol’ frien’?” he assumed.

“Could you tell us how you know each other?” Kasey joined in eagerly. “I am really interested.”

The homeless man bared his yellow dissolving teeth. “We were lovers once.”

Felis looked like she was about to vomit.

“I’m just kiddin’. Nah, she ‘elped me fin’ a place to stay one time when I was runnin’ for me life. I promised that if we met n’ she needed ‘elp, I would do anythin’ I could.”

Kasey frowned. “That’s all? You’re not leaving anything out.”

The homeless man shrugged. “You want some ashes and bananas?”

Destery’s partner stood and stepped back. “No thanks.”

“We can’t stay here much longer,” Destery said when Kasey reached his side.

“I know. This guy’s smell is going to stick onto me.”

“No, it can’t be a coincidence that this homeless man just happened to be right next to where Mr. Perry works.”

Kasey eyed him suspiciously. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying,” Destery began slowly, “that this could be a tra-”

“Destery, Kasey, look out!” Felicia screamed, forcing the boys to instinctively drop to the ground, burying their noses in rotten fruit.

“Ugh.” Kasey began to make hacking noise as he tried to hold back the urge to vomit.

“Get up!” Lia grabbed onto Destery’s arm as he scrambled to his feet. “Look.”

A man with red hair and a black suit was running quickly from the building, small sparks flying off of his feet. If the group waited any longer, they knew he would vanish from sight.

“Wha-?! Ashes an’ bananas! Ashes an’ bananas!” the homeless man shrieked as the teens flew down the street, after Mr. Sid Perry.

“You’re sure that’s him?!” Destery hollered at the girl’s ahead of him.

“Let’s see. He looked exactly like the man in the picture, he came out of that building, and specifically threw a fireball right at you two!” Lia snapped.

“It’s safe to say that was the guy,” Felis added.

“So, a trap then?” Kasey asked his socius.

“A trap.”

“But the homeless man just didn’t seem like a trapping type,” Kasey remarked, deflated. “I’m a little disappointed.”

“Well, maybe he didn’t know he was setting a trap. He did seem pretty out of it. Maybe Mr. Perry somehow made him believe that was his schedule.”

“Yeah but how would he know we would be here?” Lia yelled to the boys.

Destery hesitated, wondering the same thing, when he remembered something. “He didn’t. His Illuminos must have told him when we came here.”

Kasey swore. “That’s so not fair! Bad guys shouldn’t get gadgets like us.”

“We’re catching up to him!” Felicia noticed. “Guys, speed up!”

“What?” Destery and Kasey picked up their pace, passing the girls easily. “How?”

The man was older but he was experienced, agile, and powerful. Even if they didn’t lose him, they expected to be chasing him for quite some time.

“He’s on the phone,” Kasey noticed, making out a black slim object pressed against the Charcoal’s ear.

“…her now!” they could overhear him shout. “Take her and hide her! I will find you as soon as I can! Go NOW!”

“Her?” Kasey repeated, glancing at Destery.

“Lydia,” Des answered hoarsely.

Suddenly, their enemy came to a halt and spun around, facing them directly. The group had no choice but to stop as well and face him head on.

“You finally found me,” Mr. Perry said bitterly. “Congratulations, boys. You haven’t aged a day.”

“Neither have you,” Kasey noticed in irony. “Well, maybe a bit.”

“Be careful,” Destery whispered underneath his breath to the girls. “He uses his hands to make fire.”

“Oh, you’ll find I can do more than just that,” Mr. Perry smiled wolfishly.

…

Perry heard the noise of the door pounding below.

It definitely wasn’t her uncle. Her uncle always brought his key with him or went through the garage. Either it was a solicitor, which should have known better by now, a friend passing by, or maybe a taxi here to pick up their things.

But why would a taxi come? Her uncle would easily drive them to the airport. She couldn’t imagine him sitting in an automobile that had occupied even one stranger before.

Ignoring the pounding and the doorbell ringing, Perry slammed the remaining suitcases shut, sliding them out of her room.

“Where is an elevator when you need one,” she grunted as she shoved the pile of packages down the hall.

As soon as she had reached the top of the stairs she sighed in relief. Only a couple more levels and she would be free.

And then the persistent doorbell and knocking began once more.

It reminded her of the consistent phone calls her uncle got last night and she finally understood why he was so irritated. Already she felt like strangling the perpetrator behind her front door. Clearly this was some cruel prank. Probably Brad’s immature payback for his car.

Perry gently stepped around her luggage and jogged down the stairs, going in circles until she finally reached the bottom floor where the front door shuddered.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“A friend of your father’s,” the unfamiliar voice answered.

Perry hesitated. “I’m sorry but he’s not here.”

“I know. He told me to come get you.”

Perry flipped open the eye peephole and looked outside.

A man in a gray sweatshirt, sunglasses, long jeans, and tennis shoes bounced impatiently outside-like he was shivering, although they both knew that he must be melting underneath that outfit of his. He was the type of man that people would say looked “shady” and shouldn’t be approached alone.

“Sorry, but he called me just now and told me he was on his way,” Perry lied. “You should go back home”

“Please let me in.”

“I can’t do that.”

Suddenly, the man brought forward his left arm, a flickering flame appearing through the sleeve.

Does he have a lighter? Dread filled Perry as she imagined him attempting to light the house on fire.

“I’ll call the cops!” she warned through the door. “I have the phone right here!”

Surprisingly, the doorknob and lock melted clean off, and the door flew open.